Members of the Lehigh community gathered outside the Clayton University Center at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning to honor military service during the university’s annual Veteran’s Day flag-raising ceremony.
The event, hosted by the Steel Battalion Army ROTC, opened with remarks from Cadet Kyle Vanden Heuvel, ‘27, who asked the crowd to consider what service means.
“Service is not just an act — it is a way of life,” Vanden Heuvel said. “True peace and justice are not achieved through comfort, but through courage and conviction.”
Vanden Heuvel said the holiday was first recognized as Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I and celebrating only its veterans. It was renamed Veterans Day after the Korean War to honor all who have served the nation.
Vanden Heuvel urged attendees to lead everyday at Lehigh with the same values of those who have served.
“Let (the Lehigh community) move forward into our day to day life with these values displayed by our veterans in mind,” Vanden Heuvel said. “To be servants of our community, not for praise or recognition but out of love for our fellow neighbors and out of duty to what is right.”
President Joseph Helble attended the ceremony and said he was impressed by how the community came together despite the cold weather.
He also spoke with cadets and alumni earlier in the morning when they joined him for a run.
Before the flag raising, Maj. Christopher Curran discussed the purpose of the ceremony.
“(Veterans are) guardians of our Republic, the living proof that the ideals etched into our founding documents and the Constitution are worth defending,” he said.
He also acknowledged the presence of Lehigh’s long-standing Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Established in 1919, Curran said the Steel Battalion is the nation’s second oldest ROTC unit, after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Curran said the university has long fostered a tradition where academic rigor meets a commitment to defend the nation.
He said the brightest minds are often the ones most willing to answer that call of duty.
“Lehigh has been a training ground for leaders who are dedicated to excellence, and an excellence that is not only measured by success in their careers but by (their) character,” Curran said.
After his remarks, a bagpiper led a procession as the Cadet’s Color Guard posted the colors. The national anthem played while the U.S. flag was raised, followed by a ceremonial cannon firing a blank salute. Attendees observed a moment of silence, and a wreath was placed to honor Lehigh’s veterans.
The ceremony also recognized a notable Lehigh alumnus who served.
Curran recalled First Lt. Ralph Cheli, ‘41, who studied mechanical engineering before joining the Army Air Corps in World War II.
On his squadron’s 22nd mission over New Guinea, Cheli’s B-25 bomber was hit by anti-aircraft fire. With the plane failing, Cheli helped his crew escape before the crash.
Cheli was captured and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. Curran said Cheli continued to lead as the executive officer, protecting fellow prisoners until his death in 1944.
Curran said Cheli’s life remains a model of leadership under fire and selfless service.
In closing, Vanden Heuvel asked attendees to apply the themes of service beyond the holiday — to be servants of their community, not for praise or recognition, but out of love for their fellow neighbors and a duty to what is right.
“Service, no matter how small, strengthens our community and our nation as a whole,” he said.
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